Can you believe it?

My very own blog is all grown up and ONE YEAR OLD today!

So exciting!  This blog is truly a passion of mine.  Can you tell?

When I branched out on my own last year and decided that I would host my own blog instead of solely blogging for others, never did I think that I would end up with so many amazing friends and opportunities.

I have been truly blessed by this amazing blogging community.  Y’all rock.

But not even in my wildest Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated dreams did I imagine that I would have been published by Maryland Life Magazine!

I know, right?

If you live in Maryland, get your hands on the March/April 2010 issue and look for my article “It Takes A Virtual Village: Rise of the Mommy Blogs.” (It also features the wonderful Jessica McFadden from A Parent In Silver Spring.)

But back to topic….what I really need to say is THANK YOU to each and every person who has ever stumbled upon my blog and stopped to read a post that I have written.  I may not know you, but you have profoundly impacted my life!

I’ve been keeping this a secret for a little while, trying not to jinx it.

My big news?

Yours truly wrote an article on mom blogging for Maryland Life Magazine!  I know – CRAZY!

So, I don’t want to give away too much about the article but I can let you know that it is a spotlight on moms who blog and tweet.

The article is scheduled to run in March of 2010  Woot!

(I had the absolute best time hanging out with Jaime Windon of the Blonde Photographer. She is a blast and she made it all seem so easy! We are still trying to bribe her to Photoshop. )

My family and I spent the day on a family adventure exploring two lovely towns as part of the Eat, Drink, Buy Art program being coordinated by Maryland Life Magazine.

I’ve got to be honest, here. I’ve largely spent my “life” in the Western part of Maryland and quite frankly, have not given the Eastern counties much though except when passing through on my way to Ocean City. But in following this promotion, I have been pleasantly surprised to find so many lovely little communities! It has been so much fun making these discoveries. (I’d previously visited Snow Hill and Berlin as part of a fun girls’ weekend away.)

So, we packed up the kiddos and together embarked on a day trip adventure to the communities of Cambridge and Denton.

It turned out to be the perfect excursion. We enjoyed some real family time on the road and had a chance to just enjoy each other’s company. (Except for the part where my sons insisted on playing Michael Jackson tunes non-stop for 30 minutes. Yeah. Don’t ask.)

Things we enjoyed about Cambridge… mosaic murals everywhere! Lovely shops and shop owners.Water, gulls and the smell of the sea. Adorable cobble stone streets. Talented artisans. History.

And Denton was such a charming town! The atmosphere was laid back, the food was delish and it was the perfect fall day for exploring. (Just ask my boys who collected “the biggest leaves EVER!”)

If you are interested in seeing some pictures of Cambridge and Denton, click here. (Fan page on Facebook for Hip As I Wanna Be… more photos will be uploaded later.) If you live in the Maryland area, I would encourage you to check out Eat, Drink, Buy Art. You might be surprised at what you find when you go exploring!

As a working mom of two young boys, well, I don’t EXACTLY get out much.  You won’t find me travelling to far away and exotic destinations and sipping wine on a veranda.

Notsomuch.

Except this past weekend I DID get away. On a girlie weekend, no less!  I know, right? Small miracle.

My BBF (Best Bloggy Friend, duh!) Mary, from Pajamas and Coffee, and I traveled to the Eastern Shore in Maryland to begin exploring various towns as part of Maryland Life Magazine’s Eat. Drink. Buy Art. program.

I’m gonna stop right here for a moment and state the obvious: You already know that I am a over-stressed mom who doesn’t get out much. If you read PJ&C then you are probably deducing that the two of us together might be an interesting combination…. and you would be right.  We had a BLAST!

We stopped in Snow Hill, MD first and visited with the most wonderful people.  Truly they were so welcoming!  We began as tourists and honestly ended up more like friends with the shop owners.  Take a looky at these photos. (While you are there become a “fan”of Hip As I Wanna Be!) How can you not fall in love with this town? Not to mention the fact that we were given a spur of the moment tour of Mary’s favorite house on the Eastern Shore – the Governor’s House. (She was in heaven!)

From there we traveled to Berlin, MD and lo and behold discovered a fiddler’s convention.  A WHAT?  Yes, a fiddler’s convention.  I had no idea either.

But I soon learned that it was a BIG DEAL in Berlin. Being a country music fan from way back when I lived in Nashville, of course I enjoyed the music.  Not only that, but during the course of our stay we ended up meeting some stellar folks in that town.  I’m not giving away all of our secret adventures (although Mary might) but l will say that because of this convention we ended up with a surrogate husband named Bill. We met him after being asked to photograph him and three of his lady friends lounging in bed together watching the golf channel. (Don’t ask.) From there our relationship evolved. ‘Nuff said.

I could devote an entire post dedicated to our hotel stay.  We spent the night at the Atlantic Hotel. It was beyond lovely.  And dinner?  Phenomenal.  Drinks? Mmmmm…. Truly the most unique place I have ever stayed in my life.  I couldn’t find one thing I disliked about this hotel. Not that I was trying. Oh, except for a couple of creepy historic pictures running down the hallway. They really might wanna ditch the angry chick with the haunted eyes. And, um, androgynous ringlet kid. The stuff of nightmares, people. Just a thought.

All kidding aside, I was able to relax and really enjoy myself this weekend.  That is a rarity for me these days.  I think it was a combination of the company – Mary, the lovely towns and their extremely (!) pleasant residents.  (Not to mention the shopping!) It was such joy to be able to explore these areas and appreciate their uniqueness.

And as fate would have it, I found a new quote in one of the shops along the way -  “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Just perfect!

And one last picture, especially for Mary. Trust me… some things you just can’t explain.